The Applehack
by JayeBlueBird
Summary: Applejack had come close to death after lying while wearing her Element. She staggered into the Everfree forest in her final moments, where she became infected with a kind of fungus. This Infection gave her a new objective- to infect other ponies and raise an army.
1. Chapter 1

"The creature, once known as Applejack, was an earth pony working on a small apple farm. As the element of honesty, she, ironically, favored lies. However, it is known now that if a pony, of any kind, performs the opposite of their chosen 'element,' such as kindness or bravery, the pony will die slowly. However, in this pre-death state, the pony's body will become susceptible to corruption. Applejack, in her death state, wandered into the Everfree Forest and collapsed. This, naturally, led her to becoming infected with a host of fungi. The monster she now is has become widely known as 'the Applehack.' She may now be seen wandering aimlessly in the Everfree Forest, stumbling about randomly. The last known sighting of Applehack was on August 18, 2091. If Applehack is spotted, it is suggested that you run as far away as possible."

Twilight tore her eyes away from the book, tears welling in her eyes. It was the year 2130, and it had been almost 40 years since Applejack- Applehack, now, was spotted. Twilight Sparkle had not aged much over the years, nor have her friends. She still looked about the same age as she had those 40 years ago, but her heart was torn to pieces. Her brother, Shining Armor, had passed on recently, leaving all of Equestria in despair. With the head of the Royal Guard dead, Rainbow Dash had taken his place, abandoning the Wonderbolts to keep her country safe- only to be struck down in battle. With the deaths of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, both gems, Loyalty and Honesty, were shattered. As was Twilight's heart.

Twilight took it upon herself to try and find Applejack, no matter what she looked like or how she walked. It was still Applejack, right?

Grabbing her bags and loading them with assorted books on revival and spirit banishment, she set off for the Everfree Forest without looking back.

It was the dead of night. Good. Nopony to talk to, nopony to discuss the flowers or the weather. Just the night sky, the town, and the silent flapping of her wings. Ahead was the forest, eerie and quiet. Uncanny, yet soothing.

Twilight landed at the border of the forest, where only trees (And presumably Applejack) stood. Folding her wings inward and taking a few steps into the forest, she took a deep breath and sighed loudly. The moonlight was trickling through the leaves, accenting the bioluminescent mushrooms dotting the moss and tree bark.

 _Crunch._

Twilight spun to face the noise, hooves flattening the mossy earth. All she could see were a pair of glowing green eyes. Eyes like emeralds, but too bright to belong to any mere Diamond Dog. Was that…?

"Applejack!"

The creature stepped out of the shadows, light orange hooves creating no noise on the fallen leaves that would have been crushed under Twilight. Familiar features were revealed; A straw mane, scattered freckles, a brown hat. When Twilight's eyes gazed at the strange creature that was CLEARLY Applejack, she found something slightly… off.

Out of A.J.'s mouth, a small crop of yellow mushrooms grew. Her eyes were glowing neon green, and…

Her skin was splitting in certain places, revealing more crops of mushrooms. Brown fungi dotted her legs, and purple flora grew out of her ears. Where there were splits in her flesh, there were roots lying just under her skin. This was not Applejack. It was, but it wasn't.

And yet, this thing, this… monster…

Spoke.

"Twi…?"

The utterance of her name was muffled by the mushrooms protruding from her mouth, but it was heard nonetheless.

"Yes! A.J.! It's me! It's Twilight. I'm Twi."

They stood there, each in stunned silence. After a few minutes, Twilight forcefully grabbed her books on resurrection, demon dispelling, and other various titles, including one on Apple Farming. You never know.

Lying these books down, she began to recite spiels of spells from _Demons & You: Dispelling 101. _A clever yet dull title. Despite this, she began to chant spells from it to banish demons from ponies.

Applejack blinked at her slowly, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened. Chant after chant, spell after spell, book after book after book, nothing happened at all.

Twilight finally lost hope. Here, before her, was what was once the most down-to-earth Pony she had ever met. Now her dear Applejack was nothing more than a husk full of mushrooms. Her heart was breaking again. The only lights in the thick woods were from Applejack's eyes and Twilight's horn. Everything was still. And Twilight began to weep.

She, Twilight Sparkle, the Alicorn of Magic and Harmony, was curled up on the ground, weeping in front of the pile of flesh, bone, and flora that had once been called a friend.

Nothing had ever been a failure for her. She found friends that would never leave her side. She was the protege of Princess Celestia. Her brother was the head of the Royal Guards of Equestria. She was an ALICORN, and had the ability to wield her powers ruthlessly if she wished it so. And yet, here she was, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, at the mercy of a mindless sack of meat and plants. Weeping.


	2. Chapter 2

Applejack stood above Twilight, expressionlessly analyzing her every move. She remembered Twilight, of course. Why else would she say her name? But, regardless of what she knew of this beautiful Alicorn or not, she had been given a new objective: INFECT.

Many other ponies had aimlessly wandered deep enough into the woods to be killed in silence. Naturally, the mushrooms could only revive a corpse, or somepony in the near-death state Applejack had been in. She was still alive when she had been Infected, so she was more self-aware, and MUCH more intelligent. Roughly 200 ponies had become Infected, and had become her slaves to control as she desired. Even more convenient was that this stupid Princess was at her mercy.

While Twilight wept, Applejack let out a soft moan to alert the other foolish princess chose to look up again and smile softly. An attempt at kindness, certainly. But now was not the time for kindness. Now was the time for manipulation. Applejack chose to speak again.

"Twi...Li…?" She murmured again. Naturally, she could form full sentences. She simply didn't want to.

Twilight flinched at the sudden noise, but hearing her name from Applejack overwhelmed her. She burst into tears of joy and spoke again.

"You DO remember me! I-I can't believe it! I missed you so much, Applejack!"

A white stallion with a blue mane crept out of the woods behind the alicorn, not making a single sound. His body was in slightly better condition than Applejack's, but the mushrooms had flourished inside his Infected husk. His name was Shining Armor. With the aid of the mushrooms, other Infects were able to be controlled by her on a psychic level of sorts. Another pony crept out as well, bright blue with a rainbow mane now rotted to brown.

 _Step forward. Make her know where you are,_ She commanded. It was time to act on her objective.


	3. Chapter 3

A slight crunch of leaves behind Twilight Sparkle made her jump up from her spot on the ground, and she spun around again. Her brother's corpse stood in front of her, and her eyes met his empty sockets. Mushrooms had warped his body in monstrous ways, even more so than Applejack's. Where his eyes once were now are holes boring into his face, with red mushrooms growing out of the socket on the left. His skin was split apart in some areas like A.J.'s, and there were also various fungi growing out of his ears. This was not her brother. This wasn't anyone anymore.

How many were infected? How far had this corruption spread?

Twilight began to weep again, for she did not know.

More and more of these creatures began to creep silently out of the woods. Familiar faces dotted the masses of ponies. Zecora. The Cakes. Even little Applebloom's body was covered in mushrooms. They circled her, stumbling and staggering into a circle. She was completely trapped.

Applejack, eyes glowing, spoke again.

"Infect 'er." At this command, The entire group of what must have been 200 ponies began to haphazardly stagger forward, mouths hanging open. Escape was impossible and death was imminent.

Twilight was going to die.


End file.
